THE BLUE-FISH. 211 



perfection. To those ladies who unfortunately have to 

 be placed on the list of invalids, and can endure the de- 

 lightful and bracing summer breeze and gentle south wind, 

 a lew days' sport in the Sound, with a blue-fishing party, will 

 amply repay them for their exertion. 



The tackle is simple, cheap, and easily arranged : it is 

 composed of a squid made of bone, ivory, tin or pearl, with 

 a stout line, of from 100 to 150 feet in length, attached; and 

 when the boat is in full sail, the squid is thrown out, the fish 

 hooked, drawn in and shaken off, and thrown out, alternately. 

 We give an extract from a letter written by a gentleman on 

 an excursion on the south side of Long Island : 



" Who that has been a frequenter of our bays and inlets, 

 can ever forget the intense excitement attending the sport of 

 blue-fishing ? Those who desire to be successful in this de- 

 lightful sport, should provide themselves with a proper outfit, 

 (which can be procured at a trifling expense at any of the 

 shops where fishing tackle is sold,) as an omission in this 

 may result in disappointment. 



" The tackle in most general use, is a squid made of block- 

 tin, lead, mother-of-pearl, or white bone, of a flat, narrow- 

 oval shape, say four inches long, armed on one end with a good 

 sized hook, (No. 0000 Kirby,) laid so that the point of the 

 hook be perpendicular to the flat side of the squid. I would 

 recommend a short length of stout gimp to be put through a 

 hole in the other end, to attach it to the line. I have re- 

 peatedly witnessed, in excursions on the south side of Long 

 Island, the loss of a squid at a time when a lover of this sport 

 could least afford to lose time in making the necessary repairs 

 to his damaged tackle. The line should be of cotton, large 

 sized, and well laid, of, say from forty to sixty yards long. 

 A thin, light line will not answer, as, in case a large fish is 

 hooked, there is more than an even chance that the line part 

 before the fish is secured ; and should the fish be got in, 



